by Ainsley Shay
I managed the bike with one hand while holding the shake in the other. Inwardly, I beamed and was extremely pleased with myself for handling the bike with only one hand. No hands, one hand, piece of cake.
Isla was dusting her new dragon when I went in.
“Oh, Everly. Isn’t he beautiful?”
Somehow, she always knew it was me when she never actually saw me. A huge silver and gray metal dragon stood over six feet tall in the center of the shop.
“Uh… yeah… it’s great.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of it besides it added character to the shop. It had so much character I was surprised it fit into the small space.
I put my bag behind the counter, a glint from the trash can catching my attention. Bending, I pushed aside a napkin and crumpled piece of paper to reveal my bracelet. I took it out, then shoved it in my bag.
“I know he’s a little large, but I couldn’t help myself when I saw him. I just knew his home was meant to be here.”
I smiled at Isla’s unique passion and for always recognizing it. “He’s really great.”
“I was thinking of naming him Eiko. For some reason the name seems to fit his presence.” She turned toward me. “What do you think?”
“Perfect,” I agreed.
Before I could ask her if Cameron came home or if he apologized, Boone hooted. The door to the shop swung open. A gentle breeze swept through. The guy from the burger place stood just inside with a beautiful girl. He nodded at me. I wasn’t sure if it was intended to be a “hey/hi” or pointing me out like “there she is” to the girl he arrived with.
The girl was maybe a few years older than I was, but it was hard to tell. Her caramel-colored hair was a shade darker than her smooth skin. Her outfit was the opposite of the guy; while he wore all black, she was light and airy. She wore a loose-fitting teal tank tucked into an off-white flowing skirt, and simple brown sandals. She was beauty like I had never seen before, so natural and flawless.
“Welcome to The Warlock’s Workshop. I’m Isla, this is Everly, above you is Boone, and our newest family member is Eiko.” Isla pointed to the dragon.
The girl glanced at the bird, the dragon, and then me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” she said.
I was instantly in a trance by her honeyed voice. My Lord, who was this girl?
“I’m just finishing up over here, but Everly will be more than delighted to help you with anything you need,” Isla said.
“Thank you,” the girl said.
The two approached the counter. “Are you looking for some—” I couldn’t finish my words, much less where I was even going with the thought, after my eyes locked onto her neck. A pendant, the same as the one I saw in the Legend of Veil Rock book, dangled from a thin silver chain and nestled perfectly in the hollow of her throat.
My mouth opened slightly, then closed. I cocked my head, studying the stone like it would help me understand what I was seeing. “How…? Who…?” I uttered in a low, unrecognizable voice.
The girl tilted my chin up and to the side. Her eyes searched my face, then she smiled. “We weren’t looking for something, if that’s what you were going to ask, we were looking for you.”
16
While Isla was in complete Heaven tending to Eiko, I was caught in a bizarre web of what-the-fuck? I was fairly sure I didn’t want to know why these two were here for me. But most who had come to seek me out since I moved here hadn’t turned out all that great, so my hopes weren’t too high for kid-in-black and the caramel beauty standing in front of me.
“My name is Taryn, and this,” she lightly touched the guy’s arm, “is Raiden.”
“I’m Everly, but you probably already knew that.”
Taryn’s brows drew together. “Why would we know that?”
I crossed one foot over the other, wrapping my arms around my waist. Vulnerability was eating away at my self-confidence. “Just a guess, since everyone else seems to know.”
Her laugh was as light as cymbals being tapped together. “Well, we’re not like everyone else, but you probably already knew that.”
Actually, I had a feeling, but I wasn’t sure. “Your necklace is very pretty.”
Taryn reached for the pendant, then stroked it between the delicate tips of her fingers. “It’s a family heirloom.” She eyed my upper left cheek. “And your mark is very unique.”
Damn—why hadn’t I seen that one coming? Instinctually, I touched my cheek.
Raiden pushed up the sleeve of his leather jacket. “It’s not like any we’ve ever seen before.” The muscles in his forearms bulged.
Like I haven’t heard that before.
I thought it was only my imagination at first. But within the ink mass of Japanese art, the light illuminated the thin dagger-like line slicing through a perfect circle. My hand rushed to my mouth. “You—”
“Why are you so surprised?” Taryn asked. Then, she rolled her eyes and bobbed her head from side to side. “I guess it makes sense. An original Artisan hanging out with an offspring—never happens.” She shrugged. “But Raiden and I get each other.”
I must have had the dumbest look on my face. Not only from the way they stared at me, but from how heavy my expression felt. “I have no idea what the two of you are talking about,” I admitted.
Raiden scoffed. “Another one left to ruin the rest of us.” He nudged Taryn with a chuckle. “I’m thinking she’ll be the perfect guest for this year’s party.”
A thin smile creeped across her glossy rose-colored lips. “Don’t underestimate her, but you may be right.”
It was like they were speaking in code or a different language.
Taryn bent over to adjust her sandal. Her top fell open a couple of inches. Just above her right upper breast was an iridescent mark. It was different than mine, Raiden’s, and Macias’. Hers swirled in the center, linked to three other symbols around it.
Prickles of heat stretched up my neck and over my face.
“Darling, you are turning the most beautiful shade of red,” Taryn commented when she righted herself.
“It’s just hot in here. I’m uh—” going to run as fast and as far away as I can from here. “—I’m going to go turn down the air.”
After I ducked into the storeroom, I leaned against the inside wall. My breaths were fast and hard, yet it still felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen. The last thing I wanted to do was go back out there.
Boone screeched. With my nerves already frayed at the ends, I jumped. The papers on the desk scattered around, hovering just above the floor.
“Nice trick,” Taryn mused.
I spun around to see the odd couple standing in the doorway. Her arms were crossed over her chest. Raiden’s smirk was as radiant as the sun.
The papers flew in all directions. Control. Control. Control, I mentally chided myself. Finally, they fluttered lower until they were all settled on the floor.
“My sister, Aura, will be quite out of her element when she finds out about you,” Taryn said.
They both laughed.
I was once again in the dark. Having had enough, I wanted—needed—them to leave, and to take their humorless jokes and comments with them. “Do you guys need help with anything in the store?”
“We’ll look around and let you know,” Taryn teased.
“Isla, do you mind if I take a break?”
“Of course not, dear. You go do what you have to. I’ll be here.”
I walked around the corner of the building and unlocked my bike.
The church doors were open when I arrived. Not feeling any better than I had the first time coming here, I gathered up the courage and went inside. How anyone got used to the scents of wood oil and incense, I didn’t know.
“Preacher Macias,” I called. My voice echoed throughout the room. More than last time, I was able to take in the details of the small quaint room. Candles lined the front of the church. A few of their flames still flickered. Flowers lay in a random heap in front
of the podium. There were no giant statues of Jesus or Mary; their only presence was in the stained glass around the church. The scenes were of all the key role players from the bible. But then there were—
“Everly. I truly never thought to see you here again.” Macias came out of a room from behind the small elevated stage.
Surprised myself, I jerked my head from the windows to Macias and then back again.
“Is that Einstein?”
“Yes, it isn’t always religious figures who are great teachers, but others, like Albert Einstein, who taught us much more than E=MC2.” The preacher pointed to other sections of stained glass art. “Abraham Lincoln, Leonardo da Vinci, Anne Frank.”
“But I thought this was a place of prayer and being closer to God…”
Macias chuckled. “It is. Religion and beliefs come in all different shapes and sizes. If we only read one book, then all we would know is one book. But if we read many and compile the millions of incredible experiences and creations of others, then it may be possible to truly understand and realize what a spectacular world we live in, and what can be achieved with all the gifts and resources we’ve been given.” Laughing, he ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry, that sounded like a sermon.”
This was like no church I had ever heard of. “Do you guys still say “amen”?”
“When the time is right.” He smiled. “Anyway, I’m sure you had other reasons for coming here than to check out our display of colorful glass.”
Now was the time to get serious, even though I would have rather continued to talk about our great teachers of the past than weird marks and pale people.
“I met two other freaks like us,” I blurted.
He pursed his lips, seemingly trying to hold in a laugh. “Freaks, huh?”
“Yeah! That’s what we are, right? I mean we have these weird marks, can move wind randomly,” I cocked my head, “or not randomly at times—”
“Wait! You can manipulate air?”
The freaks were instantly put on the back burner as that piece of info fell out of my mouth. Oh, crap! “Kinda,” I confessed.
He made a steeple with his fingers, then brought them to his mouth… in thought, prayer… I didn’t know.
“You should have told me.”
I scoffed. “What difference would it have made? Do you know how to whip around a carousel or control a dust funnel?”
He eyed me with skepticism.
“I didn’t think so.” My mouth was watering to tell him about what I had read in the Legend of Veil Rock, to the point I couldn’t hold back. I swallowed. “I’ve been reading the wonderful book on our extremely interesting town.”
“Go on,” he prompted.
“And there was a section on The Protector.” Taking a deep breath, I built up my courage. I had to know there were going to be a million things down this road of supernatural shit I probably didn’t want to know. But if I was to figure out my place in it all, and hopefully without dying, then I needed to toughen up. “Was it referring to you?”
Macias crossed his arms over his chest. “It wasn’t when it was written, but it does now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I am not the first protector. It means there were others before me. Being a protector is not something you choose to be; it is chosen for you.”
The list of questions just grew and grew. I felt like I was planting a garden, and I had no idea what the hell was going to sprout up next. “Then how did you learn everything? Who taught you?”
Exasperated, he took a seat in the nearest pew. “There’s not much I can tell you because I don’t know. It all just kind of happened.”
“That hardly makes sense.”
He looked up at me. “Doesn’t it? Isn’t that what’s happening to you?”
Macias had a point.
“The two who came into the shop today, they could see the mark on my cheek. They said something about being an offspring. Is that what I am?”
His gaze fell to his hands resting in his lap. “I don’t know what you are. I only knew to protect you. And I know if Elyza is here, then something’s up. Something that hasn’t happened in an exceptionally long time… or ever.”
“Am I doing to die?” The words shot from my mouth like a canon.
The preacher was sad when our gazes met. “I hope not.”
Those were not the words that gave one the comfort they needed.
Water had always given me the sense of peace, even if it was just taking a bath. I needed to feel some of that peace now, so I rode my bike to the dock in hopes of having a few moments to take in the sight of the ocean as it healed the raw emotions flooding though me. Maybe I’d see Mina. The thought of having someone to confide in—someone not like me or the preacher, someone who wasn’t able to tell me my life may be very short-lived, someone who couldn’t say I was being tracked—was so enticing. That someone would just nod, maybe get a little wide-eyed and say, “Damn, that sucks. Want to go to Poe’s and get a slice of pizza?”
I laid the bike on the ground, then walked the rest of the way to the dock. No boats were tied up. It was the middle of the week, and there usually weren’t tours to Veil Rock then.
The moment I saw them, why the boat wasn’t in sight didn’t matter.
Golden ringlets mingled with black raven hair in the breeze coming off the ocean. Raiden sat against the dock pillar, his left leg swung over the side. Taryn sat between his legs, her head rested high on his shoulder as he leaned down intimately near her neck. I quickly turned away, then headed back to the bike.
“Come join us, Everly,” a deep, chilling voice said over the crashing waves.
I stopped, unable to move another foot. As I slowly turned around, I realized it wasn’t an invitation, it was a demand. Raiden stood only inches outside my personal space. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Red smears mingled with the edges of tattoos.
“What is—how did you—”
“None of that’s important.” He cocked his head. “You are nothing like the others.”
His un-rushed words gave me goose flesh. The back of his hand brushed over my cheek. His touch was gently, barely even there. “The others?”
“Not only is your mark different, but there’s something else. I can feel it, but I can’t identify it.” He huffed. “It’s frustrating as hell.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly sure what I am either, so that makes two of us.”
He swiped his hand over my forehead and down my eyes, shutting out everything around me.
“Do you feel that?” he whispered. “The energy and magic. It’s strong here. Almost as strong as Veil Rock itself.”
I shoved his hand away. “What do you know about Veil Rock?”
His answer came in a bout of laughter as he threw his head back, letting out a cackled cry.
“What’s so funny?”
Sobering, he stared hard at me with dark penetrating eyes. “You and your naiveté.” Raiden gripped the front of my shirt, then pulled me close to him. Our eyes and lips were level. “When the moon is at its highest peak, it won’t matter how stupid you are, little lamb—in fact, it’ll make it easier for you.” He rolled his head to the side, surveying me from head to toe. His lips dipped near the base of my throat, and he inhaled. “Although, I will say losing the likes of such a hot young thing like yourself will be very sad in deed, but it’ll also be worth it.”
Transfixed by the throaty and seductive tone of his words, I almost lost their meaning until the wind rushed around us in an uncontrollable twist. I pulled away from him, turning and running to my bike. The gust of wind died as I picked up the bike, jumped on, and rode out of there like there was no tomorrow.
Hell, maybe there wasn’t.
17
Aunt Juju had the day off. She said she planned to sit on the porch reading raunchy romances and drinking spiked lemonade all day. So lucky me got to drive the Volvo to school, which was a nice break from t
he bike.
I had an early appointment with the guidance counselor about my online classes as well as my physical class. She’d told my aunt she was concerned about my ability to handle it all. So, my job was to ease her mind and convince her I had everything under control. I didn’t think it’d be all that hard considering she dealt with kindergarteners coloring outside the lines.
“Aren’t you all fancy today behind the wheel of that luxury sedan?” Hartley snickered as I got out of the car and slammed the creaking door. Damn, I forgot to fix that.
My plan had been to hold back and ignore the bitch, but the wild beast inside of me refused to sit in the corner and shut up. I came at her like a tsunami. Her face contorted into a wide-eyed comic figure.
“You know, if you planned on opening your mouth today, at least you could have done the rest of us a favor and washed it out with acid first,” I seethed.
She took in a harsh breath. “You’re a—”
“A what, Hartley? Someone who just wants to come to school, maybe learn something, and not be insulted or bullied by the school bitch? Yeah, you’re right. I may be new here, but I won’t take your shit. I don’t need it, and I don’t have time for it. So back the fuck off.”
She opened her mouth, then shut it.
My smile was pure and genuine, and maybe a little condescending as I said, “That’s a good girl. See, you’re learning already.”
Turning, I made my way through the cheering crowd that had gathered around us. Keeping my head low, I rammed into something hard. Without lifting my head, I rolled my eyes up. Cameron cocked a brow at me thoughtfully.
“Are we having a rough morning?” he asked.
This day was not starting off like I had planned. I maneuvered around him. “Not all of us have the luxury of hiding when things aren’t going our way.”